


Yuuri Catsuki's Bad Luck!

by Littlenaga



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Cats, Cat!AU, Everyone gets a cat counterpart, M/M, The cat fic I wanted and nobody asked for, first YOI fic, pet shop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-02 04:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8651392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlenaga/pseuds/Littlenaga
Summary: Yuuri is a cat down on his luck.In desperation he prays to Cat-Jesus to change the momentum of his life...“VKUSNOOOOooo!”“NOOOOO!”Cat-Jesus is just full of surprises.





	1. Cat-Jesus

               “Hi! My name is Yuuri Catsuki! Even though I’m a cat breed associated with luck, I have the worst luck ever! I nearly got recycled when the garbage man came through and tore down my home, the girl who used to feed me moved away, and the day before I got hit with a broom at the fish market. I’m supposed to be in my prime but I’ll probably never have a mate. I’m still having a hard time accepting my new life!” While Yuuri was stuck in his self-pitying monologue, a small child with a bowl cut stopped to point at him.

“Mama, look! That cat has no tail!”

               Yuuri’s self-confidence crumbled as a child was somehow able to pinpoint his greatest source of insecurity without even trying. He couldn’t help it! He was a Japanese bobtail after all- they all came out this way!

               He looked behind him and tried to stick out his little black tail, wiggling it for good measure. It was no use, it looked like his parents could have been rabbits at this point.

               “This is it. This is my life now, everyone.” Yuuri thought to himself. “Excuse me while I crawl into the world’s tiniest hole to die.”

               Yuuri looked up at the unforgiving domain of Cat Heaven. He sat on his haunches and put his paws together in the universally recognizable symbol of prayer. Nekogami, Cat- Jesus, whoever you are, if you’re up there, please show me a sign. Give me a reason to live.”

               Suddenly, Yuuri heard the telltale jingle of tiny bells. He couldn’t believe his ears. “CAT-JESUS? NEKOGAMI?! IS THAT YOU-oh.” His excitement turned to disappointment when he realized that it was the welcome bells on the cat shop next to him. The shopkeeper – a man with short messy black hair and blue glasses- flipped the wooden sign over to say ‘OPEN’. Well… not exactly the sign he had asked for but at least cat-Jesus tried to understand. Or was it Nekogami? He shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking of the metaphysical, his meal ticket was closing!

               Before the door to the shop closed all the way he slipped inside. He yowled as he could feel some of the hairs at the end of his bobtail get caught in the door. Finally, he had a reason to be thankful for not having a long tail.

               “Waah!” The shopkeeper had fallen over in surprise as Yuuri darted through his legs. Whoops. That wasn’t supposed to happen. He felt kind of guilty so he hovered next to his face to make sure the poor human was alright.

 

               The shopkeeper groaned in pain on the floor. His head hurt but at least his butt had broken his fall. He turned to the side to see the cat that started it all. It looked kind of sorry and began to softly hit his face with his paw.

               “I’m sorry. Please be okay.” Yuuri worried. He hit the boy again. “Get up now. Pain begone.” The human at least seemed to be in one piece which was always a good start. He couldn’t add ‘being a murderer’ onto his unending resume of bad luck.

               “Yuuri are you okay?! I heard screaming!” Huh? Yuuri looked up at a girl with light brown hair in a loose bun. How did she know his name? Suddenly, the shopkeeper below him got up and repositioned his glasses on his face.

              “Thanks Yuko-chan, but I’m okay. A stray cat ran in as I was opening the shop and I fell.”

             “Oh you made a friend! Do you think it’s hungry? I’ll go get it some dry food from the back.” The girl who Yuuri presumed was Yuko-chan disappeared through a door at the back of the shop. Then it dawned upon him. He was in a cat shop. There is food in cat shops. These people are weak to cats.

           He was a cat. He began to chat incessantly.

          “My name is Yuuri! Is your name Yuuri too? Isn’t that confusing? This must be fate! Let’s be friends. Do you know what friends do? Take care of each other of course! I’m hungry do you want to give me some food…”

           Human-Yuuri smiled at the cat who suddenly turned into a huge chatterbox at his feet. The pain from falling had turned into a gentle throbbing at this point.

            “Nice to meet you too. Oh? Where’s your tail?” Human Yuuri knelt down to the cat’s level. Then, he realized that it did have a tail. It was just really short. As the cogs turned in his head his eyes widened in recognition. “Oh my gosh! Yuko, come back! I think it’s a Japanese Bobtail!”

            “WHAT.” Yuuri yowled, jumping in surprise as Yuko came barreling in from the back of the store. “Oh my gosh you’re right! We haven’t had one in ages. Ah it’s so cute! Can we keep it?! Wait, I’m the owner… we’re keeping it!” Yuko squealed.  “I’m going to call Takeshi to make an appointment. Yuuri can you feed the cat?” She shoved the cup of dry food into Yuuri’s hands and ran behind the counter to make a phone call. Yuko was so excited that she was nearly vibrating.

             Human Yuuri looked bewildered by his boss’s intense reaction. That cat had been caught by surprise and was hiding cautiously behind one of the legs of the display tables.

             Yuuri grabbed a 2-dish bowl off the counter. He filled one side with some tap water and emptied the cup of dry food into the other before placing it on the ground. “Come here, kitty~ food’s done.” He tried to speak in a soft voice so coax the cat out again. Not a minute had passed by and he could hear the soft crunching sounds as the cat began to eat slowly.

              Human Yuuri looked behind him to see Yuko still excitedly chatting away with Takeshi. He swiped a can of chicken-flavored wet food from the shelf and quickly dumped some onto the dry food. The cat seemed to look up at him in confusion.

           “Is this for me?” Cat-Jesus was real.

 

           Human-Yuuri put his finger to his lips with a shushing sound.

          “Shhhhh… eat quickly. If Yuko finds out she might take it out of my paycheck.”

          Yuuri meowed happily around a mouthful of tuna. This was the best. Bad luck where? “Your secret is safe with me human Yuuri. You’re my favorite.”

          “Haha, I’m glad you like it. I’ll be right back.” Human Yuuri left to talk to Yuko about something as Yuuri enjoyed the rest of his meal.

          Suddenly the hairs of the back of his neck began to rise despite himself. He could feel a large looming presence behind him. As if something insidious was staring at him from down a long, dark, hallway.

* * *

 

             Victor yawned from within the cat display as he was roused from his nap. The shopkeepers were certainly noisier than usual today. He thought he could hear his favorite keeper Yuuri shout earlier but he seemed okay now. That was a relief.

            He was about to doze off again when he began to smell his favorite chicken flavored wet food being opened. Was it lunch time already?! Why didn’t anyone wake him up! He stood on his hind legs so he could see over the wooden barrier only to see a new cat eating all by himself. The cat seemed to stiffen as he bore his eyes into it. The new cat must have had a pretty impressive sixth sense to notice that he was being watched.

           Before he could be discovered, he jumped up to pounce.

           Yuuri’s ears stood at attention as a foreign war cry reverberated throughout the shop.  

           “VKUSNOOOOooo!”

             He looked up in surprise to see an enormous furry grey meteor accelerating towards him at an astounding 9.8 m/s2. He tried to escape his fate but he was too late. His nails only made scratching sounds as it failed to find purchase on the tile floor.

           “NOOOOO!”

          His whole world collapsed and became fifteen pounds of fluffy Russian Blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been a long ass time since I wrote fanfiction so I'm real rusty. Read: Unbeta'd  
> I've been having dreams of long haired Russian Blue Victor and Japanese Bobtail Yuuri for some time now. Once I realized that I couldn't just close my eyes and tell myself how my dreams would come true I got tf up and wrote this. I'm still having a hard time visualizing what they would look like in cat form tho... But Yuuri is a predominantly black and white bobtail I think I would want to model his markings to reflect the "On Eros" costume that he wears.  
> Victor has a luxurious blue-grey double coat with a regal outline. You guys should look up these cats they are great.  
> I hope you enjoyed this.  
> Next chapter we will see more of Victor~  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated. I'm on tumblr too.  
> @ mileenadelanoche.tumblr.com  
> Stop by and say hello.


	2. Too many Yuuri's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only two things in this world are infinite for Yuuri: Stupidity and Bad Luck.

               Yuuri wheezed laboriously as he scrambled to get out from under the furry mountain with little success. He extended his claws to try and find purchase on the ground but it was no use. He was going to die like this. He meowed frantically.

               “Human Yuuri! Help me! I’m being crushed to death!”

               “Oh sorry! I didn’t even see you.” Victor lied through his whiskers as he stood up to give the cat-turned-pancake under him some breathing space. He looked down at the smaller cat beneath him. “Nice to meet you. My name is Victor. I’ve never seen you here before. Who are you? Where did your tail go? Did you like the chicken? Can I have the rest?”

               Yuuri’s head was spinning. He couldn’t tell if it was from lack of oxygen or the infinite amount of questions being hurled at him. He was trapped in a mountain of fur. What if this thing above him was the product of all the discarded hairballs of the world gaining sentience to slowly suffocate their previous owners one by one?

               “Where did you come from? Hello? Are you shy? Hmmm, you are very quiet.” Victor got off the cat to stare into its eyes. He waved his paw in front of the extremely quiet strange. “Hello? I’m sorry for sitting on you. Can you talk?”

               Yuuri began to heat up in embarrassment. Sitting in front of him was possibly one of the most beautiful cats he had ever laid eyes on. Its eyes were so blue they looked green- or were they so green they looked blue? The cat in front of him seemed ghostlike with how his long fur seemed like it would fade into mist at the ends. His coat was so shiny and fluffy Yuuri began to feel inadequate. He had been rolling around the streets all day and he hadn’t had any time to clean himself.

               Yuuri shook himself out of his stupor. Oh no, he looked like an idiot for staring! “U-uh, I’m Yuuri C-catsuki.” He screamed internally at his own stutter. He felt his heart jump as Victor’s eyes narrowed at him in contemplation.

               “OI, VICTOR! Stop flirting with the rabbit and help me out! I want food too!” Victor broke eye contact to look back at the display. An orange-cream Siberian Forest Cat was attempting to look over the display that Victor had occupied earlier. He hissed threateningly and attempted to puff up his coat to look bigger but since Yuuri could onto see the top of his ears it just looked comical. A few other cats had peered out of their cages to see what the commotion was.

               “Rabbit?” Yuuri shivered in spite of himself. He had not gotten hissed at for a while and he felt just a bit intimidated. “I’m not a – oh”

               Victor had squished himself closer to put a paw around Yuuri and the bobtail was once again assaulted by an unholy amount of fur. “This is so fun! Yuri meet Yuuri! And Yuuri, I want you to meet Yuri! Hahaha!” The mountain of fur rumbled in amusement until it suddenly stilled. Yuuri moved the extra fluff out of his face to see that Victor looked troubled.

               Victor turned his head to look directly at Yuuri. “Hey Yuuri.”

               “Yes!”

               “Don’t you think having three Yuuri’s in one shop makes it too confusing? It was already a hassle with two… How about we give each other nicknames? Doesn’t that sound fun?” Victor reached up to scratch at his ear as he waited for Yuuri to answer.

               “Hey! Stop ignoring me. You’re being a total jerk!” Yuri meowed in annoyance from behind the display. It seemed like out-of-sight, out-of-mind was really effective. “Victor!”

               Yuuri nodded dumbly. It was hard to think with all of the warm grey fur around him. It was really warm and was making him awfully drowsy.

               “Great! Yuri will be Yurachka and you will be lapushka because of how small you are. Everybody’s happy then.” Victor preened in satisfaction. He just solved all the world’s problems. Maybe in a previous life he was a politician?

               Yuri nearly growled. “No one gets to call me that, don’t give my nickname out like it’s something cheap, fur-for-brains!” Yuri’s ears disappeared below the display before popping back up again not five seconds later.

               “I’M STILL HUNGRY. WHERE’S MY FOOD?!”

 

               Yuuko set the phone down and squealed in joy. “Takeshi said he could squeeze us in for tomorrow but before then, he said that we should probably quarantine the cat just in case and also give the cat a bath to check for fleas and ticks.”

               Yuuri’s happy face faded away at that. ‘We’ usually meant that he would do most of the hard work and clean up. He sighed. At least he loved his job. “It’s good that we could get an appointment on such short notice.” Yuuri replied good-naturedly.

               The bath went as terribly as Yuuri thought it would. The cat was meowing miserably the entire time and probably lost the fragile trust between them.

               “Human Yuuri, why would you do this to me if you know how cats feel about water? I thought we had an understanding. I’m cold. The water is cold. Why am I the only one that gets a bath? If you thought I was dirty I could have just cleaned myself. How could you do this to me?” Yuuri meowed begrudgingly. He was dripping all over, stiff, and shivering like a man dying of hypothermia.

               “Yuko, I have some good news and some bad news” Human Yuuri called over his back from his position at the bathing sink. “Good news is the bobtail is completely flea and tick free. Bad news is it probably hates me now.”

               “That’s great Yuuri! Can you wrap it up in some blankets so I can do a quick check-up for diseases? Takeshi told me to do one just in case.”

               Yuuri nodded and toweled off the bobtail as best as he could. Swiftly he proceeded to wrap the stiffened cat into a perfectly fluffy burrito before handing it off to Yuko.

               “Hey Yuuri, don’t you think we should give it a name? It feels cold to just call it bobtail all the time. What if it gets self-conscious?”

               _Too late._ Yuuri thought as the light that Yuko was shining into his eyes made him wince.

               Human Yuuri just shrugged. “I can’t really think of any right now.”

               “Hey, he kind of looks like you though don’t you think? How about Yuuri Jr.? Or even Yuuri-Cat?” Yuko looked imploringly into the cat’s eyes. “Yuuri-cat sounds cute doesn’t it?”

               Yuuri meowed in response. “You were so close.”

               “I think it likes it.”

               Yuuri meowed tiredly in protest as he was put in the isolation cage. “No!” He meowed. “I don’t want to stay in here! It’s small and smells like disinfectant!”

               “Be a good kitty now, Yuuri-cat! You can join the others tomorrow after we see the vet, okay? We’ll be back by morning.” Yuko patted him on the head before closing up the shop and leaving.

               He collapsed onto his side in exhaustion, slightly foaming at the mouth. Where was Cat-Jesus now? His eyes began to slip shut…

               “Don’t die Yuuri! Stay strong!”

               He opened his eyes blearily. “Nekogami? Cat-Jesus?”

               “No, it’s me Victor! Stay strong!”

               “I’m not dying, Victor I’m just tired.”

               “Would you guys shut your traps I’m trying to sleep!” A familiar grumpy voice shouted at them.

               “Yurachka is that you?”

               “Shut it Rabbit, you’re not allowed to call me that!”

               “Someone’s being a little grumpy pants~!” Victor teased.

               “GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAA!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO AGAIN! I was so inspired by the warm response from the first chapter that I decided to resolve the annoying cliffhanger by adding another chapter!  
>   
> Special thanks to Iliguana and Stillnight for leaving nice little comments. I'm so glad you guys think it's cute and it motivated me to crank out another one today.  
> It's going to be harder for me to update this since it's mid term season next week but I'll try my best to keep it regular.  
> Small note: Russian Blues have sleak short hair but I really wanted Victor to be a long haired cat so I kind of cheated?  
>   
> Let's say he is a Nebelung/Russian Blue mix (although I will continue to refer to him as a Russian Blue cause he's Russian :P)  
> Yuri - Siberian Forest Cat  
> Yuuri - Japanese Bobtail  
> What do you think the other skaters should be? Here's my thoughts so far:  
> Phichit- Siamese or Suphalak  
> Chris - Persian or Norwegian Forest Cat  
> Seung-Gil - Tuxedo Cat (lol help)  
> Iglesia - Ocicat or Savannah (also help)  
> Guanghong- Dragon Li  
> JJ- Tonkinese  
> Minami - mixed/tabby (help)  
>   
> Please leave me some suggestion.  
> Comments and Kudos appreciated!  
> Tumblr @mileenadelanoche  
> (sorry for long note.)


	3. Yuuri goes to the hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri goes to the hospital ft. a brief introduction to some new characters.

               Every cat in the shop was restless the next day. Word had spread that the new guy was going to pay a trip to the vet tomorrow and that usually meant that anyone else that Yuuko thought needed a check-up was also fair game. As the door to the opening of the shop opened, every feline who hadn’t gone to the veterinarian was awake and were making their furry bodies as small as possible.

               Yuuri was confused. The air seemed to have an uneasiness to it. His body was sore from spending the night in the cramped isolation chamber. Even though he was full from the dry food left in his cage overnight, he found that he was miserable once again. The outside was dirty, but it was familiar. As of now, there were no familiar faces around him. Not even the rude cat that always dug through the dumpster for scraps. The hairs on his back began to stand on end as the girl – Yuuko came to open up his cage again.

               “Am I free?” His hopeful thoughts turned to mist as Yuuko swiftly got her hands under him and placed him into an even more cramped cage. By the time he realized what was happening it was too late to fight back. He clawed at the hard plastic floor of the new prison cell and swiped at the metal grate door. Only the soft sound of the latch jiggling slightly was any evidence of his struggles. He was a proud cat so he didn’t often show his anxiety but the sudden change from a free alley cat to a confined store ornament was too taxing.

               In spite of himself, he began to cry. On his worst days, the pitiful shrill sounds would grant him scraps of chicken from passing strangers. Today, it just made him feel sorry for himself as it bounced off the hard grey plastic that made up his new holding cell.

               “Let me out! Please let me out!” He pawed at the grate of the cage in frustration. He had just spent the entire night alone in a prison. He would not stand to get stuck in another prison- portable edition or not! Yuuko, noticing his distress, tried to comfort him but it was in vain.

               “I’m sorry Yuuri-cat! There, there… it’ll be okay. You’re just going to the hospital for a check-up”

              

               Yuuri meowed in surprise as his cage was lifted and he was loaded into a van along with a few others. He saw human Yuuri walk up to Yuuko just as she was about to close the door and began to cry again as his last ditch attempt to free himself.

               “Human Yuuri, help!” He cried out. “C’mon please let me out! Please, you seem to care!”

               Yuuri-cat was the picture of unhappiness. His black ears were pressed flat against his head as he meowed incessantly.

               “Yuuko, I don’t think Yuuri-cat likes the cage very much. I think even his whiskers are drooping because he’s so unhappy. Do you think I could take him out of the cage on the way there?” He scratched the back of his head- a habit that had formed over the years. “I’ll take responsibility if anything happens.”

               Yuuko sighed then smiled. “He seems to be a troublesome one just like his namesake. Just be careful he doesn’t get spooked. If he shows any signs of car anxiety, it’s still better to put him in a covered cage, okay? Thanks for taking on the job- you should get there just on time.”

               Yuuri had taken the liberty to unlatch the cage which resulted in a much happier cat. Yuuri-cat had spent much of the ride staring out the passenger side window; in awe at how fast they were speeding past town until he couldn’t recognize much of it anymore. His tiny stump of a tail was up in the air, straight as a board. It occasionally wiggled softly if he saw something of interest.

               At stoplights, Yuuri would glance to the side to see a fuzzy bottom and he smiled knowing that he had made the right choice.

               “Are you having a good time Yuuri-cat?” He asked, not expecting Yuuri-cat to turn his head and meow at him in delight- black ears wiggling for good measure. He laughed, cats weren’t supposed to be able to smile.

               They arrived at Takeshi’s veterinary hospital without incident. Although, Yuuri-cat had not taken kindly to being stuck back in the cage again.

               He stuck his small paws out against the sides of the cage and bared his teeth as Human Yuuri tried to take him back to prison.

               “I thought we had an understanding!” He meowed as threateningly and batted his paws at the traitor.

               “Please be good, Yuuri-cat…” Yuuri bemoaned his fate as the employee who was always stuck with the dirty work. Every time he got Yuuri-cat close to the opening of the cage, he would stick his paws out to the side so he wouldn’t fit then scratch up his arms. He winced as an especially well placed kick made three thin red lines run up his arm.

               After a few more minutes of struggling he was able to get the little rascal inside, much to Yuuri-cats displeasure. The entered the building just in time for the appointment. Takeshi greeted Yuuri with a crushing bear hug before taking Yuuri-cat’s carrier off Yuuri’s hands. Just as Yuuri-cat disappeared behind the doors Takeshi handed Yuuri some legal papers as he briefed him on the details of the appointment.

               “So, don’t freak out, we’re not going to put him under since we’re not doing any surgery. We’re just checking him for disease and giving the proper vaccinations. To prevent injury and any extra stress, we might give him a sedative, though. Nothing dangerous. Worst case scenario is he’s just really high for a while hahaha!” Takeshi’s chest rumbled full with the timbre of his laughter. “Hope that doesn’t give you any trouble on the way back.” He knocked on the wooden counter and gave a little chuckle. “Whoops, wouldn’t want to jinx it.”

               Yuuri smiled in relief then laughed. “Thanks for telling me that, you know I always worry a little too much. It’s okay though, I think high cats are really funny. You never know how they’re going to act.” 

_The sounds of displeasure could be heard from hundreds of meters away. Some of the veterinary shadow students were really reconsidering their futures. Hiss! “Get your oily mitts off of the King, you ingrate! I’m a national treasure!”_

_“Please calm down King JJ, Mrs. Leroy is just running a bit late-” The large cinnamon and chocolate brown Maine coon was not having it. His smoky plume of a tail tapped up and down, up and own. His shocking sea glass blue eyes cut right through the student that had tried to man-handle him earlier. It was almost unfair that they were so far below him in status and presentation._

_A loud drawn-out yowl cut through the tension between a King and his people. King JJ turned his head to the side then felt a shiver of disgust run up his spine. Every time he visited this dinghy place, it always seemed to coincide with some foul wretch that was constantly in a state of arousal._

_Another sharp yowl cut through the air like a whip. “Ooh~ Ooh! Doctoooorrr, your marvelous hands are so **rough** on my purrrrfect body.” A sleek European shorthair with an unusual fur gradient from a tawny gold to a dark brown was having the time of his life- being pampered by his favorite vet. “Ah~ honey, you’re so close… to that, That Spot! Right there. Oh yes~” He arched into the touch, moaning in abandon. _

_“You like that don’t you, Chris? Such a good kitty.” Dr. Giacometti smiled as he rubbed the cat down furiously- focusing on the places he knew would get Chris purring._

_“Yes, doctor, but you have been so very bad to this good kitty~” The end of his tail curled in pleasure as he got closer and closer to the climax of their usual rough petting session._

_The few newer veterinary students who were still too naïve to escape started feeling incredibly awkward. One was just looking off into the distance seeing nothing, his little notebook full of absolutely nothing. ‘How many years of school and suffering had bought her to this new low?’_

_Yet another heated yowl cut through the air. The undergraduate student who was contemplating his goals in life dropped the pen he had not used once since visiting. ‘Too many years’ she thought to herself. ‘Far too many years of suffering.’_

               He couldn’t see much through the iron grate of his plastic prison but Yuuri knew he was in hell. The cries of a demonic tyrant hit him just as the wanton moans of a lusty succubus assaulted his very being. Just as a demon- assuming a human form- began to slowly unlock the only barrier between him and the evils of the underworld he let out a shuddering breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. Slowly, cautiously, he tried to creep back into the recesses of his confines. A hand shot out- grappling onto his body like a phantom. His tiny cat soul slipped into his lungs as he desperately tried to tug himself free.

               He shrieked.

               Vaguely, he remembered his claws digging into something loud. Something definitely slid down his throat. Heavy and dry – it somehow also smelled like fake canned tuna.

               Outside in the wait room, Yuuri jumped as he began to hear evidence of chaos being stirred up in the back of the veterinary hospital. There were definitely a few people shouting and angry meowing sounds seeping in from the cracks under the entrance. A large brown poodle sitting next to him punctuated all the unusual violent noises with an excited bark. ‘Such a cute dog’ he thought to himself.

               “Sounds like today’s a busy day, huh…Yuuri?” A low voice mused next to him. Yuuri’s eyes slid to look at the tall man sitting next to him. Silvery movie-star hair with bangs covering a quarter of his face, sparkling cerulean eyes, this stranger’s face was defined and elegant.  He couldn’t stop his mouth from opening a little in shock, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. He probably looked ridiculous in front of this man who apparently knew his name. There’s no way I could know you. There’s no way you know me.

               “There’s no way you know me.” He repeated some of the words buzzing around his head. Yuuri shook himself out of his confusion. “Uh, who are you? I’m sorry but I don’t think we’ve met.”

               “Hahaha, well we’re meeting right now aren’t we though? My name is Viktor.” He paused moving lifting his hand and moving it towards Yuuri’s chest. He pointed at something a few times and Yuuri looked down to realize belatedly that he was dressed in his work clothes.

               His name tag read: “Hi, my name is [Yuuri]”. Now he felt a little embarrassed as Victor let out an amused laugh.

               “Oh whoops haha- I guess I forgot I was in my work clothes. Well, I’m Yuuri for what it’s worth.”

               Viktor brushed off the awkwardness with a wave of his hand and flawlessly continued the conversation. “Do you work around here by any chance?”

               “Kind of, I work at a pet shop about fifteen minutes away by car. Oh, although I call it a pet shop it’s gotten overrun by cats recently. My boss really likes cats.”  

               Viktor lit up like a Christmas tree. “Kitties? Really?” He got strangely close to Yuuri in his excitement. One of his arms was resting on the arm of the chair while the other was clenched in a fist as if it was the only thing keeping his excitement from exploding all over the place. Out of reflex, Yuuri leaned away slightly.

               “Yeah! Uh, lots of cats and kitties…”

               “I love kitties! Maccachin loves kitties too, don’t you Maccachin?” The brown poodle barked and wagged his tail in joy. “Do you think I could come by sometime? I want to see them. Can you give me your number? Here, I’ll give you mine too!” Viktor whipped out his smartphone from seemingly nowhere and Yuuri did too without thinking.

               With the powers of Bluetooth, they exchanged their contacts instantaneously- phones dinging to let them know that the transfer was successful. Viktor smiled happily. “Don’t you love technology?”

               Yuuri’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding. “Yes, technology is amazing.” he managed to get out.

               “Maccachin, your medicine is done.” A female veterinarian chimed from the window. The sound of excited dog claws clicking on tiles filled the space under Yuuri as Maccachin rushed to get to the drop-off window. As per usual, the pleasant medicine woman leaned over the counter to gently place the white medicine bag in an eagerly awaiting mouth.

               Viktor got up to head from the door, a little disappointed that he couldn’t talk more about cats with his new friend. The medicine bag swung back and forth as Maccachin struggled against the slippery tile to catch up to his owner.

               Before he went out he looked over his shoulder to say goodbye to Yuuri. “See you soon, I’m looking forward to all the fluffy kittens!”

               Yuuri put his hand over his heart as Viktor disappeared outside the glass doors of the veterinary clinic. His heart was beating a little fast. Socializing with attractive people was like having miniature forms of cardiac arrest at all times. His body was a little too warm. The thump of his overworked heart drowned out the sound of cats yowling and vets yelling until it was the only thing filling his ears. Strangely enough, he couldn’t get Viktor’s face out of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this chapter seems drawn out I apologize, I'm having trouble moving the story onto the true plot line. Don't be fooled, this story is still focused on the cats! I promise this story will pick up soon--- but Poor Yuuri right? He has to deal with two of the most impossible cats on top of veterinary trauma!  
> So I decided to scrap the Tonkinese idea with JJ and made him a Maine Coon since Maine is close to Canada and Maine Coons are HUGE. Nothing says King like being huge- there's also a legend that they once were loved by a Spanish? English? royal Idk mate. 
> 
> I also decided to make Chris a Euro Shorthair- on second thought the elegant long haired breeds didn't suit him imo. BTW I love writing Chris I really relate with him (take that as you will). The undergraduate vet was a reflection of me- wondering how I got to the point of writing borderline pornographic cat content.  
> I'm sorry Yuuri is suffering so much - look at the title my friends. It holds meaning. 
> 
> Thanks for all of the comments- they really make my day and validate my time spent lovingly crafting this mess
> 
> Also, if you guys have more input on what the other characats should look like please share. 
> 
> Aaaand you're all always welcome to discuss headcanons and YOI with me on tumblr @mileenadelanoche


	4. Guru Guru

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Social interactions can be difficult and hard to interpret as Yuuri finds out

The car ride back to the pet shop might have been long and arduous or unpleasant. Neither Yuuris really took notice however. Yuuri-cat was off in a substance induced dream. It felt like an out of body experience- as if he were playing a third-person RPG devoid of pain and feeling in general.

Human Yuuri’s mind was also elsewhere as he left most of the navigation to instinct and muscle memory. Although he usually ignored it, the feel of his phone pressing into his thigh due to the small pockets on his work pants were weighing heavily on his mind. Why was he so conscious of that stranger’s words? It was really bothering him as he turned the last thing Viktor said to him over and over in his head.

Viktor had looked over his shoulder to say goodbye, his hair displaced from the motion so that both of his eyes were clearly visible. “See you soon…”

See you soon? What did that even mean? He wanted to see Yuuri again willingly? Was Yuuri supposed to call him or would he contact Yuuri instead? Did he just want to come to the store? Why? Did he want to get a kitten- he sure seemed focus on kittens in the conversation. Ah… Yuuri blushed in embarrassment as he realized that he had read into Viktor’s invitation too deeply. Of course he wanted to meet with Yuuri because he was a pet store employee and someone at the veterinarian’s clinic had to love animals. Viktor probably only talked to him in the first place because he saw the name of the shop on his work clothes.

Yuuri didn’t know whether to feel disappointment or relief at the conclusion he’d come to. He wasn’t even totally aware of why he would have either or those emotions as opposed to joy. After all, he’d just someone fumbled and gotten the store another customer. Viktor seemed very nice so any cat that was adopted by him was guaranteed a nice life.

He was startled out of his chain of thoughts by a sharp knocking on the windshield of the van. Yuuko was trying to get his attention as he had been idling in the van for several minutes.

“Yuuri, are you okay?” Yuuko knocked on the van and called out to him in a voice lightly tinged with worry. “Did something happen?”

Yuuri shook himself out of his thoughts at Yuuko’s worried look. “Oh, no. Everything’s okay. Sorry, I was just thinking a lot.” Yuuri took the carrier with a still drowsy bobtail and followed Yuuko back into the store.

Yuuko brightened considerably once she heard nothing was wrong. “Overthinking again? That’s such a Yuuri thing to do!” She laughed lightly. “It was pretty scary. You parked right in front of the store, shut off the van and then just stared deep into space for 10 minutes like a zombie. What were you thinking about so much?”

“Oh, uh, nothing much really. Just, I was thinking about something someone said to me. It was kind of confusing so I guess I ended up spending all my time trying to figure it out.”

“Did you figure it out?” Yuuko pried sneakily.

“Yeah, I think. It’s kind of embarrassing because it was really simple.” Yuuri adjusted his glasses nervously as Yuuko looked unconvinced as if her face embodied the phrase: sound fake, but okay.

“Alright… I’m glad you figured it out then. If it’s still bothering later you can always talk to me or Takeshi, you know?”

“Mmm-hmm” Yuuri nodded his head reservedly. He opened the carrier and placed the prone Yuuri-cat on a more comfortable bed which he promptly curled up in with a disgruntled meow. He had decided to room Yuuri-cat with Victor since he was an older mellow cat that seemed to have taken a liking to Yuuri-cat anyways. Just as Yuuri thought that, Victor – who had been taking a small cat nap in one of the other corners of the display pen- picked himself up to plop down near Yuuri-cat. His fluffy tail seemed to curl around the smaller bobtail like a blanket as they settled.

Yuuri smiled at the heartwarming sight and refrained from reaching out to pet them by placing his hand over his chest because of how his emotions overwhelmed him.

It was a slow day today it seemed with only a few regulars coming in for new toys or pet food. All the cats were well fed and Yuuri had changed out the water dishes, litter boxes, and bedding as needed. Inevitably, he ran out of work to do and resigned himself to his thoughts once more.

Viktor had not contacted him yet which meant that he was probably expecting Yuuri to contact him with information on the shop. What if he had said everything as small talk and he wasn’t actually interested in coming? He knew some people like that. Phone numbers were cheap nowadays. People just give them away without a second’s notice and Viktor seemed popular so maybe he thought like that. But what if he genuinely wanted to see the cats? Yuuri wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he kept someone from cats even without meaning to.

Without giving himself a second to think about consequences he texted Viktor an invitation with his working hours. The sound of the text message being delivered offered him a strange relief.

His eyebrows rose in disbelief as he heard the familiar ping of a text message being received from his phone. No way… that’s too fast!

Viktor: Perfect! That’s actually close by where I’m staying so I’ll see you tomorrow! \\(‘ ♡ ’)/

Not even Phichit texts back that fast. Yuuri didn’t know what he was up against.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I last updated and also sorry there is not much cat stuff in this chapter. My health, my school, my life in turmoil. This chapter's also a bit short- I'm trying to get back into the story after so long. 
> 
> This story is weird as it juggles so many points of views and technically has two plots going on at the same time it is more difficult to juggle when writing than I thought.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for leaving reviews and kudos even as inconsistent as I am. You guys made me want to come back to AO3. Thank you for that. 
> 
> Next chapter I am trying to get more plot movement. It's difficult. If I focus on the cat's relation I lose human development and vice versa. My highest gratitude to authors who update regularly with such convoluted story lines. I am still learning.
> 
> Much love, LiNaga


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